Swords into Plowshares

Building Beloved Community: Dismantling Racism

My friends and colleagues Teresa Chavez Sauceda and David Bowie are leading a seminar at Ghost Ranch this summer with the title "Building Beloved Community: Dismantling Racism."

The seminar will take place the week of August 3 - 9, 2009. The cost is $250 + housing & meals before May 15; after May 15, it is $350 + housing & meals

The seminar will draw on the tools of antiracism training to offer a time for dialog and discovery, through Bible study and discernment to focus on understanding the ways that racism continues to shape our lives, to explore resources and strategies to dismantle racism and build community, and celebrate the amazing diversity of God's family! Participants are encouraged to bring resources to share.

Teresa and David are good folks. I have had the privilege to work with them individually and together. It should be a great week!

Christian Peace Witness for Iraq

The Christian Peace Witness for Iraq takes place today and tomorrow. As I cannot be there, I pray.

I pray for those who witness for peace.

I pray for the people of Iraq, including those who have been displaced by war and violence over the past years. I pray for my Iraqi sisters and brothers in Christ.

I pray for those serving in the United States military in Iraq and around the world. I pray for their families and loved ones. I pray I pray for the men and women of the armed forces of other countries serving in Iraq.

I pray for those who have been killed and those who grieve for them. I pray for those who have been wounded in body, mind, or spirit. I pray for them as they recover and cope. I pray for those who care for them.

I pray for those, Iraqis and others, who resort to violence against the people of Iraq and against the military personnel in Iraq.

I pray for those who provide humanitarian assistance in Iraq on the ground and through financial gifts.

I pray that leaders will receive wisdom and courage to seek peace.

I pray that the hold of hate and cycles of vengeance will be broken.

I pray.

May Fast for Global Food Crisis

Resources are available for the May fast related to the global food crisis. This fast will take place on May 1 to 3. The theme is economics and debt relief; the country focus is Haiti.

Join Presbyterians around the country in monthly 40-hour fasts to help discern ways to respond to the global food crisis. The fasts typically take place on the first weekend of every month, beginning on Friday evening and ending with Communion or a communal meal on Sunday.

Prevent the Collapse of South Sudan

Urge Congress to act to prevent the collapse of South Sudan. Were a collapse to occur, it would gravely threaten prospects for peace in Sudan as a whole, including Darfur.

Since 2005, two million south Sudanese have returned to the homes and villages they were forced to abandon during a 21-year civil war. For many, the homecoming has degenerated into conditions of extreme poverty. Water, medical care, and seeds and tools to grow food are in short supply, with women bearing the greatest burden. Meanwhile, sparks of tribal and armed conflict have displaced almost 200,000 people in the past year.

While this is happening, the Government of Southern Sudan faces an economic crisis due to the drop in oil prices. Unable to pay salaries, including army salaries, the government has a cash flow shortage of $100 million per month.

The people need help to rebuild their lives. And the government must focus on the budget crisis to avoid a breakdown of law and order. A collapse would shatter any realistic prospect for peace in Sudan as a whole, including the Darfur region.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been in ministry with the people of Sudan for over 100 years.

The Sudan Advocacy Action Forum provides updates on the situation in the country.

The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program provides links to further information about Sudan.

Call for a Commission of Inquiry

From the National Religious Coalition against Torture (the links have been added):

In response to statements by Senators Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, and Diane Feinstein that a Commission of Inquiry investigating the use of torture should not be established until after the Senate Intelligence Committee finishes its investigation, NRCAT Board President Linda Gustitus issued this statement:

"We are very disappointed that Senators Reid, Durbin, and Feinstein favor delaying the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry on Torture.  Senator Reid suggested that 'we have to get the facts' before Congress can decide on the need for a Commission, but that's exactly what a Commission would do -- get the facts. Unlike the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose jurisdiction is limited to the CIA, a Commission of Inquiry would have jurisdiction to look at all agencies across the government and develop the complete story.  The various disclosures we've had to date have been important, but they are piecemeal; the public deserves and our moral responsibility requires that we make public the full truth on our country's use of torture. 

"Since the Senate leadership has missed its historic opportunity, we call upon President Obama to establish a nonpartisan, presidentially appointed Commission of Inquiry."

What has the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) said on this question?

Recognizing the importance of establishing accountability to preventing future use of torture, the 217th General Assembly (2006) approved an overture that called Congress to create an investigative body to inquire into the use of torture by the United States and, if appropriate, to recommend the appointment of a special prosecutor. The Assembly also called the Attorney to appoint a special counsel "with full authority to investigate and prosecute any official or officer of the United States government who bears direct or command responsibility for having ordered or participated in violations of law in the mistreatment of persons detained by the government of the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib Prison, or elsewhere, or in transporting persons into detention in nations that have known records of brutality and torture."

Antiracism Training at the Big Tent

The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and the Office of Multicultural Ministries are partnering to offer an antiracism training event prior to the Big Tent. The Big Tent, a unique gathering of ten Presbyterian conferences, will take place in Atlanta, GA on June 11-13. The antiracism training will take place on June 10-11.

The goal of antiracism work is the transformation of our church and our society, through the transformation of ourselves. This experimental workshop will help participants to gain a deeper understanding of the systems of power and privilege that perpetuate racism, learn about the tools and resources for antiracism work and equip them to be agents of change.

Register now for the Big Tent and the pre-conference antiracism training.

Pray for the People of Sri Lanka

The civil war that has wracked Sri Lanka for 25 years may be drawing to an end. 

Learn more about the crisis in Sri Lanka from the United Nations News Centre, the New York Times, and Human Rights Watch.

Here is a prayer for the people of Sri Lanka:

Loving God, who created the earth and all that is in it, we pray for the people who live in Sri Lanka, the tiny island in the Indian Ocean, who are your children and belong to you. Although people of same color, they are yet divided by language and religion, and have resorted to violence to solve their differences. We commit them to you O Lord, so that whether they be Sinhalese or Tamils, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, or Muslims, they would be embraced by your Love, and realize that they can learn to co-exist, trust each other, and live peaceably, tending to each others’ needs in Love. Let there be new leadership among both Sinhalese and Tamils, who will be prepared to seek Peace and Justice through new negotiations for Peace, condemning violence. Let your Holy Spirit protect and guide those who are willing to stand up boldly for Peace in Sri Lanka, and throughout this world in which we all live. Heal those who are sick and injured, lift those who are in poverty, broken in spirit, and in despair, by the consequences of all forms of violence and war. Loving Creator, let your presence and power create an oasis of Peace, Love and Healing, within suffering Sri Lanka, and wherever there is suffering in this world.

In the name of your son and our savior, Jesus Christ, we pray.

Amen.

This prayer was written by Chris Nicholas, who works for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and who has family in Sri Lanka.

Learn about Presbyterians at work in Sri Lanka.

Read a statement on the crisis in Sri Lanka from World Religions for Peace.

As critical as it is to address this crisis, the end of the war will not end injustice and strife for the people of Sri Lanka. Social inequities and systemic injustice rooted in racism will need to be addressed.

Can't Go to DC? Send Bread

Even if you are not able to join the Christian Peace Witness for Peace in Washington, D.C., you can be a part of our witness in front of the White House, share bread with our nation's hungry and support ministries which sustain life in Iraq.

Each $10 donation buys one loaf of bread (to be purchased by CPWI from local bakeries) and designates $7 to share the sustenance of life with the people of Iraq through two amazing, direct ministries in the Middle East.

It's easy to donate.

Donations will support:

DIRECT AID IRAQ
Believing in justice, not charity, Direct Aid Iraq (DAI) is a partnership between Iraqis, Americans and others supporting a future of peace for Iraq through providing aid, facilitating cooperation, engaging in advocacy and providing education. DAI works particularly with Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons.

MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE/IRAQ
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) focuses on supporting Iraqi NGOs and church partners, primarily in Baghdad and northern Iraq. Projects range from distribution of material resources (blankets, school kits, relief kits-anyone may contribute), access to clean water projects, support for a kindergarten and orphanage and development of a peace education curriculum for elementary students.

Donate today!

Pray for Peace

This week's Spiritual Nurture for Peacemakers includes a prayer for Rural Life Sunday, a prayer for the war in Iraq by the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, and a prayer for those who live in poverty. Use or adapt the prayers in personal devotions and corporate worship.

A Commission of Inquiry - Join the Call

Join the call for a Commission of Inquiry to investigate U.S. torture policies and practices.

A critical moment in the effort to stop the use of torture by the United States appears to have arrived.

On April 16, 2009, the Department of Justice released memos that had been prepared by Office of Legal Council attorneys Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury as they assessed the CIA's "harsh interrogation techniques" between 2002 and 2005.

President Obama has indicated the possibility that he will support both a Congressional Investigation and has left the door open to pursue prosecution of those who wrote the memos which attempted to give legal cover for torture. There are also indications that the President will make this decision in the near future.

Writing for No2Torture, a grassroots Presbyterian organization dedicated to stopping torture, the Rev. Carol Wickersham notes "Now is the time to redouble our prayers and our pressure.  Please let the White House and Congress know that this is what we want: an investigation and accountability. We must make it clear that we want both: truth and justice. In order to achieve this, any investigation must be nonpartisan and authoritative, investigating all who were involved in drafting the memos and giving the orders up the chain of command.  This is what the Presbyterian Church has been asking for since the 2006 General Assembly."

The 217th General Assembly (2006) [PDF] of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) called for "an investigative body with the independence, stature, and broad investigative powers of
the September 11th Commission to inquire into whether any official or officer of the United
States government bears direct or command responsibility for having ordered or
participated in violations of law in the mistreatment of persons detained by the
government of the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib Prison, or elsewhere or
in transporting persons into detention in nations with known records of brutality and
torture."

The assembly also called for "the appointment of a special counsel with full authority to investigate and prosecute any official or officer of the United States government who bears direct or command responsibility for having ordered or participated in violations of law in the mistreatment of persons detained by the government of the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib Prison, or elsewhere, or in transporting persons into detention in nations that have known records of brutality and torture.

As Carol Wickersham notes, "We have worked long and hard and significant strides have been made.  Now two very important steps are potentially in sight, but we need to let those in power know that this is the will of the people."

John Shuck reflects on our need to make our voices heard on this issue.